This article is from page 10 of the 2006-05-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A YOUNG man who was the victim of an unprovoked attack in Ennis has told how he has become a recluse as a result – his attacker was jailed for four years last week.
Anthony Conlon received a threeinch deep wound to the chest, after he accidentally bumped into David O’Loughlin, along a footpath at Harmony Row, Ennis, on June 30, 2005.
O’Loughlin (19), unemployed, of Finian Park, Shannon, was jailed for attacking Mr Conlon, a native of Mayo, after he pleaded guilty.
Detective Sergeant Joe O’Brien told Ennis Circuit Court that Anthony Conlon (who was then 21) and his girlfriend were walking down the street at around 7.30pm.
O’Loughlin and Mr Conlon bumped into each other, along a narrow footpath. Words were exchanged between the two and O’Loughlin stabbed his victim in the chest, just under the ribs.
Mr Conlon sustained a wound, three inches deep and one-and-a-half inches long. O’Loughlin was arrested later that night and the following day he admitted his part in the stabbing.
He said he had thrown the knife into the River Fergus, but it was never recovered.
A consultant surgeon who assessed the victim said he was “lucky to have survived, considering the depth of the wound.”
Dt Sgt O’Brien said there was “absolutely no logic whatsoever” for what had happened, that the victim and his girlfriend were out for a walk, minding their own business.
He said O’Loughlin is a “very volatile individual” who comes from a “dysfunctional” family.
Mr Conlon, an apprentice aeroplane mechanic, was in intensive care for a week after the assault and was unable to work for five weeks.
“I don’t go out anymore. I am basically a recluse… No more walks – I take the car,” he told the court.
He has fully recovered from his injuries, but remains wary of anyone he meets on the footpath.
In court, O’Loughlin apologised. “There is nothing I can say or do to take away the injuries I have done to Anthony Conlon. All I can say is sorry.”
His barrister Brendan Nix said his client has been in foster care since he was 11.
“It is a bad case. It could have been an awful lot worse,” said Mr Nix.
Judge Con Murphy said the offence was “horrendous” he said Mr Conlon “very nearly sustained a fatal injury, given where he was stabbed was very near to his heart.”
He said he accepted O’Loughlin was pleading guilty and that he apologised.
“He came from a dysfunctional background, which is no fault of his own,” he said, imposing a four-year term.
O’Loughlin has already served six months on remand and this was taken into account.